True oregano tough to figure out

Jan Wiese-Fales

Sunday

May 31, 2009 at 12:01 AMMay 31, 2009 at 5:00 AM

There’s botanic nomenclature — the systematic classification and naming of plants — and then there’s what I like to think of as plant commonclature. Nothing could be less systematic than how humans, with their flawed memories, random associations and endless variations on the same five senses refer to plants. It can be darn disquieting to someone who writes about photosynthesis-dependent life forms and who also feels a personal compulsion to get it right.

Some plants are worse than others, and I had no idea what a tangled web of titles and tags I was wading into when I decided to write about the culinary herb oregano.

This spring I purchased a Puerto Rican oregano plant and a plant labeled Cuban oregano, both from mom-and-pop operations with handwritten tags that gave no taxonomic hints. I thought I was familiar with Mexican oregano, having long ago purchased something designated as such, but my research showed me it had been mislabeled. And that’s part of the problem. Often, the names of these Latin American “oreganos” and others are used interchangeably, along with an entire host of additional designations. The fact is none of these south-of-the-border plants would be upright if “true” oregano were asked to stand. And they would be permanently prostrate after a Missouri winter.

What the Greeks had in mind when the coined the name origanon — oros, meaning “mountain,” and ganousthai, meaning “delight in” — was the genus of herbaceous perennials that now, according to the Herb Society of America, includes 44 species, six subspecies, three botanical varieties and 18 naturally occurring hybrids. All are native to the mountains in the Mediterranean region of Europe and Asia. Well-known species included in this branch of the mint family are marjoram (O. majorana), dittany of Crete (O. dictamnus) and Greek oregano (Origanum vulgare subsp. Hirtum, or O. heracleoticum). The latter is my culinary oregano of choice.

Many years ago, I planted three plants of the Greek variety that supplied us with fresh and dried oregano year-round. Oregano is one herb that actually might be better dried than fresh. We enjoyed it so much that when I came across a plant labeled Mexican oregano, I decided to give it a whirl. It was a lovely perennial, with a similar growth habit but with pink blooms compared to the white flowers on our other plants. It turned out to be almost flavorless. And when our main patch faltered a few years back and I added another Greek oregano plant, we had the same experience. Both additions, merely variations of the Origanum species, have been pulled and composted.

Mexican oregano (Lippia gravelens) is actually a shrub with larger, pointed leaves and a stronger flavor. It is a member of the verbena family. Its essential oil shares some of the same chemical characteristics as Origanum, as do some of the other false oreganos, obviously one source of the commonclature confusion.

Also in the verbena family is my new Puerto Rican oregano (L. micromera), more commonly called Spanish thyme. It has leaves similar in size to Greek oregano, but, they are fleshier and fuzzier, and from my taste tests, probably less culinary.

The Cuban oregano plant (Plectranthus amboinicus), which found a home in my herb garden this spring, is more commonly called Indian borage. It has somewhat larger succulent, fleshy leaves with scalloped edges and also is a member of the mint family. Botanists believe this imposter, which goes by the pseudonyms Mexican mint and menthol plant, might have originated in Africa.

I’ve only scratched the surface on the perplexing array of all things oregano. In addition to its identity crisis, the medicinal claims made for this blended family practically make it a miracle drug. Oregano and plants with the some of the same phenols in their chemical make-up offer a quartet of “anti” benefits — they are antiseptic, antifungal, antiviral and anti-inflammatory. Traditional herbal medicine connects them to relief of respiratory ailments and pain, and more recent claims say that they can lower blood pressure.

Until now, my primary use for oregano has been culinary. It is a key ingredient in our oil-and-vinegar salad dressing and a standard in pizza and spaghetti sauces. However, I did find an oregano therapy I might have to try: A cloth bag filled with oregano leaves, steeped in a steaming bath, is said to relieve aches and stiff joints — perfect for an older and wiser gardener.

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